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PB Wacana Vol. 17 No. 1 (2016) Abd. RahmanWacana Hamid Vol., Binongko 17 No. 1 people’s (2016): life19–37 in Coral Island 19 Binongko people’s life in Coral Island Abd. Rahman Hamid Abstract This article looks at the life of Binongko people. The word “Binongko” is well known as a Buton migrant’s identity from Southeast Sulawesi in Maluku. In fact, it is a name of a rock island in Wakatobi district. Few people know about this fact. Binongko people built their world through the myth of La Patua Sakti and Putri Bidadari. Since the environment did not support farming activities, most of the people’s needs were supplied by the sea through sailing. This activity was as old as their history in this island. The people also developed their skills as blacksmiths, which supported sailing tradition. This profession was an old identity of Wakatobi. This island brought about: early migrants of Buton in Maluku, skilful sailors, and ulamas, who were hard-working people. This study finds the relationships between the environment, history, and culture of Binongko people in Wakatobi area. Keywords Binongko; migrant’s identity; sailing tradition. Introduction Binongko is a name of an island located on the front side of Southeast Sulawesi Province, in Wakatobi district, located in the western part of the Banda Sea and north of Flores Sea. Before the arrival of the European people, the island was called by mainland Buton people as Liwuto Pasi (Rock Island). Besides Binongko, Wakatobi is also attached to three other islands in the surrounding areas, namely Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, and Tomia. In the era of Buton monarchy, the four islands were called Liwuto Patanguna (four islands), and then in the Dutch colonial era it was changed into Toekangbesi Eilanden (the islands of blacksmiths). Lately, in the independence era, the four island names were made into an acronym Wakatobi, which stands for Abd. Rahman Hamid, a PhD student in History, Faculty of Humanity, Universitas Indonesia. He got his MA in history from Hasanuddin University in 2007, with a thesis entitled “Pelayaran dan perdagangan maritim orang Buton di Kepulauan Wakatobi 1942-1999.“ His main publications include Sejarah maritim Indonesia (2013), Pembelajaran sejarah (2014), and Sabangka- Asarope: tradisi pelayaran orang Buton (co-author Tasrifin Tahara, 2015). At the moment, he is writing a dissertation on the cruise of Mandar people in the straits of Makassar in the twentieth century. Abd. Rahman Hamid can be contacted at: [email protected] © 2016 Faculty of Humanities, University of Indonesia Abd. Rahman Hamid | DOI: 10.17510/wacana.v17i1.451 20 Wacana Vol. 17 No. 1 (2016) Abd. Rahman Hamid, Binongko people’s life in Coral Island 21 Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, Binongko, as a name of the district in the Southeast Sulawesi Province. Map 1. Binongko Island in Wakatobi Regency (source: https://www.google.co.id). Binongko people are well known in Ambon, Maluku, as a group of Buton migrants, who have lived there for a long time. However, few people know about the Binongko Island as an origin of great sailors. All people coming from Southeast Sulawesi are often called or call themselves Binongko, although actually they do not come from Binongko. In addition, the word Binongko is also used as a name for various types of machete, which are known for their good quality among farmers there and which are sold by peddlers from Buton. Referring to the most recent information, there was an opinion that the type of machete used by Chief Pattimura, as printed on the 1000-rupiah note, is Binongko machete. Compared to the other three islands in the Wakatobi district, Binongko is the most barren island, hard to access at the turbulent time of the sea, and the most underdeveloped area. For the first time after arriving at the island on 17 May 2007, I could not go out of the house without wearing my sandals because of the sharp rocky surface. From Rukuwa port, I took an ojek (motorcycle transport) through paths among the rocks to Wali village. On the second visit on 15 March 2015, the road’s condition seemed to be improved as it was paved with asphalt already. The road was wider, about three to four meters wide. The trip by an ojek from Bante port to Wali was better than it was during the first visit. The water quality used by the local people for their daily activities was still the same: it tasted a bit salty. The water was taken from pits or holes in the rocks. The best time to take the water was when the tide ebbed because when the tide rose, the water in the hole tasted saltier. That is why in the past 20 Wacana Vol. 17 No. 1 (2016) Abd. Rahman Hamid, Binongko people’s life in Coral Island 21 water was the most important help for people who had a party. No wonder that many earthenwares or ceramic jugs, which were brought by sailors from Singapore, could be found at every house to accommodate water in the rainy season. Some families made big water pools to accommodate rain for their needs in the dry season. Meanwhile, electricity was limited only for the night, starting from 6 p.m. to 12 p.m. Therefore, family activities that relied on electricity could only be carried out at night, except for few people who already had their own generators. Thus, people only used electricity that was provided by the state electricity company (shortened PLN in Indonesian) for only six hours a day. The condition influenced the Binongko people’s way of life. Why did people inhabit this island? How could they survive? Where did they get their daily supplies? Then, why did not they move to another more fertile island? Many questions could be asked. Moving from the questions, this article tries to explain the survival strategies of Binongko people in the rock island for hundreds of years. In anthropological perspective, human beings’ success to master their natural environment is proof for their success in achieving a higher level of culture (Poerwanto 2005: 87). Early condition of Wakatobi In the past, a man came from China named La Patua. He was sailing around the world by a great ship. He wanted to see whether the world was a perfect creation or not. He was a descendant of Noah. When his ship sailed at night, shiny light appeared from the peak of the island, which hindered him from mastering his ship so that it hit the rock. Using a small boat, he tried to paddle away from the ship to the point where the light came from. In fact, the light was emanated from the head of a princess dancing on the island. On her head was attached a crown and on her ears sparkling earrings. In their meeting, each of them used secret codes (haebu) of their own, but they could understand each other. The codes were later on developed into languages used by the people of Binongko Island. The language used by La Patua is called Cia-cia, while the language of the princess is called Kaumbedha.1 The meeting place of La Patua and the princess was Binongko Island, as is believed by its people as Pocuno Wuta (Chief of the land). This island has rocks and salty water. The name “Binongko” comes from two words: Bi (the embodiment of the princess’ head) and Nongko (the embodiment of La Patua’s ship). After the meeting, La Patua continued his sailing to the north. At dawn, he saw a man (omia/mia in Cia-cia language) and heard a mysterious voice temia ‘there was a man’ (in Kaumbedha language). Then, he continued his journey further to the north and saw an island. On that island, he saw white smoke accompanied with a smell of incense (dhupa) coming out of the navel of a princess floating on the sea. Watching the miracle, La Patua bowed and 1 The story about La Patua and the princess is derived from the work of La Rabu Mbaru. 2005. The Story of Haebu of Bitokawa Islands, Butuni at Magical Time [manuscript]. 22 Wacana Vol. 17 No. 1 (2016) Abd. Rahman Hamid, Binongko people’s life in Coral Island 23 prostrated for the greatness of the Creator. From this event came the word kahe (land) and dhupa (incense), later on became the name Kahedhupa or Kaledupa Island, which means ‘fragrant land’ (Hamid 2011: 39). Near the Kaledupa Island, La Patua saw a light of life emanating from the princess which then changed into an island full of secrets. That was the Hoga Island, the Life Island. After observing Kaledupa and Hoga, La Patua continued his sailing to the north up to Wanianse waterways. At that time, this island was still invisible. What could be seen was only a tall figure or Wa Langka Tu’u (the man with long knees). When Wa Langka Tu’u stepped forward, a fragrant smell spread accompanied with the appearance of the islands (Kapota, Toue, Kompono One, Pohara, Somanga, Simpora, Watu Nua-nua, and Watu Napabale). From this story, the name Wangi-wangi Island was born, which was previously called Wanianse. The people of this island are often called Wanci or Wanse. Another version said that the fragrance came from the incense in Kaledupa, which was the princess (Mbaru 2005: 5). The short story mentioned above reflected autonomy in the narration of the Binongko identity, as the origin of identity formation of the islands of Binongko, Tomia, Kaledupa, and Wangi-wangi. Based on the story, an old acronym was created for Wakatobi islands, namely Bitokawa (Binongko, Tomia, Kaledupa, Wangi-wangi).

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